# How to fluff up a down comforter **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 14, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fluff-up-a-down-comforter/429996 "2007-12-14T14:23:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fluff-up-a-down-comforter/429996/1 "2007-12-14T14:23:53Z")
My down quilt just celebrated its 23rd birthday. ( :eek: ) I use a cover, so it’s not dirty, but the down is clumped up in spots. It’s still warm, but could definitely be fluffier. Can I just throw it in the dryer, on no heat, and tumble it for a while? Or would I be better off taking it to a laundromat and doing that in a jumbo dryer? Or do I need to take it out to be professionally fluffed? TIA. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fluff-up-a-down-comforter/429996/2 "2007-12-14T14:55:30Z")
I’ve heard that the way to do this is to tumble the comforter in the dryer with some tennis balls. Depending on the size of the comforter, you still might need to do this in a commercial dryer rather than at home. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fluff-up-a-down-comforter/429996/3 "2007-12-14T15:03:37Z")
I saw the ladies on ‘How Clean is Your House’ (answer - it’s a filthy hovel) do just that! They used 3 tennis balls and just a standard dryer. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fluff-up-a-down-comforter/429996/4 "2007-12-14T15:05:31Z")
Hm. I don’t have any tennis balls. Maybe a couple of beanie babies? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fluff-up-a-down-comforter/429996/5 "2007-12-14T15:09:49Z")
I’ve heard of using a couple of (clean) tennis shoes. I don’t know about beanie babies. They have the mass, but unlike the “officially” recommended tennis balls and shoes, they aren’t rigid. And if they came apart in the dryer, their innards would make a problematic mess. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fluff-up-a-down-comforter/429996/6 "2007-12-14T15:13:26Z")
Get to a jumbo dryer on zero heat and use clean tennis shoes. That’s the way I re-fluff my down sleeping bags. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fluff-up-a-down-comforter/429996/7 "2007-12-14T16:24:23Z")
Okay, I’ll try it in my home dryer first, with clean sneakers, before driving over to the laundromat and feeding quarters into the machine. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fluff-up-a-down-comforter/429996/8 "2007-12-15T09:42:37Z")
Yeah, clean sneakers or the cheapest tennis balls you can find at your local toy or discount store. We wash our down duvets once a year, when we change to summer-weight bedclothes, and the same four-pack of tennis balls has been keeping them fluffy for over a decade. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fluff-up-a-down-comforter/429996/9 "2007-12-15T12:54:24Z")
Ah, getting balls at the dollar store – good idea. I was trying to figure out whether I had any “clean” sneakers. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2007, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fluff-up-a-down-comforter/429996/10 "2007-12-15T17:43:08Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] Ah, getting balls at the dollar store – good idea. I was trying to figure out whether I had any “clean” sneakers. [/QUOTE] They don’t have to be too clean, really, just tie each one up in a clean pillowcase and then throw them in. That’s how I do it w/ my down comforter. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2007, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-fluff-up-a-down-comforter/429996/11 "2007-12-16T19:32:43Z")
Report: Ran it in the dryer, “no heat,” with two sneakers, each in a clean pillowcase. It’s not exactly “like new,” but hell, it’s over 20 years old – and it’s significantly fluffier than it was. If I get ambitious, I may repeat the experiment in a big laundromat dryer sometime, but for now, I’m happy. Thanks to all who responded!